Anti-illegal immigrant groups call for boycott of Bank of America

(National-NBC) March 8, 2007 - A nationwide backlash is growing against Bank of America and other banks that are offering credit cards to people without Social Security numbers, many of whom are illegal immigrants.

Bank of America followed its competitor CitiBank when it began offering special high-interest credit cards to some customers regardless of credit history or immigration status.

Bank of America says the cards are not targeted towards illegal immigrants. Bank of America's James Mahoney says, "For many years, Bank of America and other banks have offered secured credit cards to customers who have checking accounts on the basis that allows them to build a credit history."

CitiBank launched its program two years ago. And Wells Fargo offers home mortgages to some immigrants who have lived in the US for at least two years.

Christopher Lauria says, "It's a purely business issue and it doesn't bother me in the least. It's something that's between banks and their customers."

But, some Bank of America customers have closed their accounts in protest while others are calling for a nationwide boycott, saying the banks are, in the words of William Gheen, "using credit cards, home mortgages to aid and abet, induce and encourage illegal aliens to both enter the United States and remain here unlawfully."

The banks argue that they are in full compliance with all federal banking regulations. Opponents point out that banks stand to make a huge profit from the estimated 73 million people in the US who don't have accounts.

Some experts say the 12 million estimated illegal immigrants in the US could translate to a $360 billion market for banks and other financial institutions.

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